Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-12-10

lena, and at Muldoon, camp east of
ketchum. Some of these were small
establishments without much financial
backing, and they failed, owing to a
variety of causes, any one of which
was potent enough to overthrow any
such institution. The Muldoon estab-
llshment was very perfect for the time
at which it was built, but, although
strongly backed, it failed after making
considerable bullion, and | under,
stand has been sold once or twice at
sheritl1s sale.
The concerns at ketchum, Haley
and Bellevue, as soon as the railway
was completed, felt tie pressure of
Eastern competition, and with the ex-
ception of the first, which exists under
exceedingly peculiar circumstances,
had to succumb. They were small
affairs, and were built in day when
single small water, jacket furnace
without accessory apparatus other
than a blower was supposed to con-
stitute smelling works.
The works at ketchum were of
more pretentlous design, aud have
been added to at various times ever
since, until now, when they rank
among the most elaborate and perfect
in the West. Elsewhere in Idaho,
Washington and Oregon you will find
nothing to compare with them; in
fact, there is nothing else worthy of
mention. If we count the small works
at Bayborse, Clayton, Bellevue, South
Mountain, Galena, Milo and Nicholia,
and add the embryo establishments at
Portland and Tacoma to the total, the
result will not equal the great smelter
of the Philadelphia & Idaho Company
at ketchum, nor will their united cost
approach that. In speaking later Of
the industries Of ketchum, will de-
scribe the works.
Small country smelters usually stand
in very difficult and undesirable po-
sition. AS with those on Wood
River, they have to run entirely on
one kind of ore, and offset its def
clencies or excuses with hux, which
is often very expensive. 1t costs
much money TO smelt this excess Of
lux, which money is saved to WELL
situated and extensive smelters in
other places by employing ores of
other sorts, whose excuses of this and
the other gangue nearly satisfy the
necessity for tlux, and by getting pay
for treating every sort of ore (Which
serve as tlux for each otherkthey save
in two ways, namely: in the cost of
tluxes, and by getting pay for almost
every mineral that goes into the fur
mace. They also save in the useful
capacity of the furnace, which is con-
tinually full of paying ore instead of
being iucumbered to a large extent
by barren limestone and iron 1ux,
whereby its capacity is much dimin-
ished. Such resources, which now
form the backbone of successful
smelling and alone make possible the
commercial success of the great East
ern establishments, are denied to all
isolated concerns like those of Wood
River, and almost all other country
smelters, particularly those running
solely upon lead ores. For the pro.
duction Of one ton of bullion from two
tons or ton and half of galena ore
does not much mend the matter of
transportation. | will not prolong
this economic study of smelling to
any greater length, but will dismiss
the subject by saying that, like nine
tenths of the country smelters, the
Wood River establishments closed OF
will yet close, not for lack of ores, but
because no smelter employing blast
furnaces has ever yet run successfully
upon ealena or other ores very rich in
lead, unless there were peculiar sur.
rounding circumstances to offset the
naturally recurring difficulties which
| have mentioned. III obedience to
this principle, the smeters at HALEY,
Bellevue, Muldoon and Galena are no
longer in operation, and that at Ket-
chum has maintained an existence
through being supported by Eastern
capitalists, who wish to know no such
word as fail. 1t has, may say, an
exceptional advantage in a freight
rate Of ST. on bullion, carload lots
an anomalous rate indeed, for bullion
is elsewhere invariably subjected to
the highest possible rate, usually twice
as much as ore, whereas in tits case it
is one-fourth less.